Lymphoma Abbreviations and Acronyms

Below is a list of frequently used and commonly understood acronyms which are used on many on-line lymphoma forums. 

Link to Chemotherapy protocol acronyms 

Link to common Medical abstract abbreviations

Link to Oncology group acronyms

Link to acronyms about remission status

• AFIP - Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (no longer exists) (Washington DC)
• ALLO - Allogeneic (A type of transplant where someone donates the stem cells or bone marrow)
• AUTO - Autologous (A type of transplant where the patient donates their own stem cells or bone marrow)
• BMB - Bone Marrow Biopsy
• BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR is also a chemotherapy protocol)
• BMT - Bone Marrow Transplant
• BTW - By The Way
• CBC - Complete Blood Count
• CHEMO - Chemotherapy
• CINV - Chemotherapy Induced Vomiting and Nausea
• CLL - Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (see also SLL which is the same disease)
• CNS - Central Nervous System
• CR - Complete Remission
• CSF - Cerebral-Spinal Fluid
• DIFF or Differential - a count of all the individual white blood types not just a total count. (Done during a CBC)
• DLI - Donor Leukocyte Infusion (or Donor Lymphocyte Infusion)
• DX - Diagnosis
• ENT - Ears Nose and Throat specialist
• FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
• FIL - Father-in-law (MIL mother-in-law)
• FISH - Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization A process which vividly paints chromosomes or portions of chromosomes with fluorescent molecules. This technique is useful for identifying chromosomal abnormalities and gene mapping
• fNHL - Follicular Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
• FYI - For Your Information
• G-CSF - Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (stimulates white blood production)
• GM-CSF - Granulocyte Macrophage colony stimulating factor
• GVHD - Graft Versus Host Disease
• HAMA - Human Anti-Mouse Antibody
• HEMONC - Haematologist/Oncologist
• IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
• IMO - In My Opinion
• LDH - Lactate Dehydrogenase
• LOL - Laughing Out Loud
• MDA - MD Anderson cancer centre in Texas
• MALT - Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (a type of  lymphoma of mucous producing tissues)
• MOAB - Monoclonal Antibody (Drugs like Rituxan, Zevalin, Bexxar, Lymphocide etc)
• MSK - Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer centre in New York. 
• MUD - Matched Unrelated Donor (a type of allogeneic transplant with a donor not related to patient)
• NED - No Evidence of Disease
• ONC - Oncologist
• PBSCT - Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant (see also SCT)
• PCR - Polymerase Chain Reaction (a method for growing vast quantities of DNA from as little as a single cell so it can be tested)
• PICC - Peripherally inserted central catheter
• PMH - Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto 
• PR - Partial Remission
• PTLD - Post Transplantation Lymphoproliferaltive Disorder (getting NHL after an organ transplant)
• RIT - Radio Immuno Therapy (radioactive antibodies)
• ROTFL - Rolling On The Floor Laughing
• RX - Prescription
• SCT - Stem Cell Transplant (same thing as PBSCT)
• SLL - Small lymphocytic lymphoma (see also CLL which is the same disease)
• SO - Significant Other
• TBI - Total body irradiation (often used as part of a transplant)
• TPN - Total Parenteral Nutrition
• TX - Treatment
• WBC - White Blood Count
• WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

Oncology group acronyms

• GLSG: German Low Grade Lymphoma Study Group
• GOELAMS: Groupe Ouest Est des Leucemies et des Autres Maladies du Sang  (Western and Eastern Group of Leukaemias and Other Blood Diseases)
• DSHNHL: German High Grade Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Study Group
• SWOG: South Western Oncology Group
• CALGA: Cancer and Leukemia Group A
• CALGB: Cancer and Leukemia Group B
• GELA: Groupe d'Etude des Lymphomes de l'Adulte
• ECOG: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group
• EORTC: European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer
• GELCAB: Grup per l'Estudi dels Limfomes de Catalunya i Balears

Common abbreviations used in medical abstracts

• FFS - Failure free survival 
• EFS - Event free survival (something bad happened, not necessarily NHL) 
• OS - Overall Survival (% alive at some given endpoint)
• ORR or OR - Overall Response Rate (% of people who had any response) 
• TTF - Time to Failure (Time until failure occurred, NHL returned or therapy stopped working)
• TTP - Time to progression, same as above
• PFS - Progression Free Survival (Time until NHL came back) 
• CR - Complete response (or complete remission) 
• CRu - Complete response unconfirmed. 
• PR - Partial response ( >50% reduction) 
• TRM - Transplant Related Mortality
• QOL - Quality of Life 
• CI - Confidence Interval (how sure are they their results are accurate)